


A Million Scars

by novaKnight_Rahxbi



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Death, Werewolves, angst towards the end, starts out 2 years before the start of game then leads into main game, werewolf!Gladio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-04 05:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21192413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novaKnight_Rahxbi/pseuds/novaKnight_Rahxbi
Summary: An injury from protecting Noctis during a mugging leaves Gladio with a lot more than just a couple scratches to deal with.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Right in time for the Halloween season! I love werewolves and I love Gladio, so it was only a matter of time before I ended up writing this. I hope you enjoy!

_ “Your wounds don’t appear to be anything serious, but I’ll have to prescribe you both antibiotics and ointment.” The doctor took a notepad out and scribbled down the exact name of the drugs in question before ripping off the sheet of paper and handing it over to Gladio. “The ointment will need to be applied to the bite for a week, but I’d also like you to put some on the eye abrasion to allow it to heal properly.” _

_ Gladio squinted at the handwriting on the paper to properly decipher the doctor’s scrawl. “And the antibiotics? How long will I need to take those for?” _

_ “We’d like to make sure that any potential infection from the bite wound gets nice and cleared up, so you’ll need to take those once a day for a week as well.” The doctor gave an affirming smile as they jotted down a couple more notes on the patient medical sheet, then placed it into the folder nearby. “You should be right as rain well before then, but please let me know if anything changes, whether any sudden symptoms pop up or if the wounds get worse in appearance.” _

_ “I’ll be sure to. Thanks a lot, Doc." _

* * *

The amoxicillin capsule for the day was smooth going down as Gladio swallowed it with a couple gulps of cold water. He looked back at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, gingerly touching the scratch running vertically across his left eye. Seemed to be healing up well enough, but it was definitely gonna leave a scar.

“Could have been worse,” Gladio sighed to himself. It really could have, especially if he hadn’t stepped in against that thug that attacked Noctis a few nights ago. It may have been his sworn duty to put the prince first, but he wasn’t about to go and pummel a crown citizen, either. 

Though, come to think of it, something seemed off that night. The way that guy had lunged at Noctis made him seem like some sort of wild animal. Gladio had reacted fast enough to only get grazed by the knife the man had been carrying, but then he had lunged at Gladio again and ended up biting his arm. By the time he had managed to shove him off, the guy was already stumbling out of sight.

He turned his attention away from his reflection and towards the slowly healing bite wound marks on his right forearm. It was already weird enough that the drunk bastard had taken a bite out of him (Seriously? Who the hell _ bites _ someone in a fight?), but what was weirder was that the marks didn’t even look like they were from human teeth.

Gladio shook his head. Freaking weirdo had probably been walking around with fake fangs in his teeth or whatever. Didn’t matter now. Gladio did his job right, Noct was safe, and they both made it out scot-free. Wiping the corner of his mouth free of any residue water, he put the pill bottle back on the nearby shelf and headed out to Crownsguard training.

* * *

As per usual, Cor had all the recruits warm up for the day’s drills by running ten laps around the Citadel’s outdoor training pit. Being on the slower side of running speeds, it normally would have taken Gladio around 20 or so minutes to finish the warm-up. Which is why it surprised both himself and the Marshal when he finished in half that time.

“Almost ten minutes flat.” Cor looked down at the stopwatch in his hand to double-check the lap time. “That’s a new record for you, Gladiolus. Well done.”

“Thank you, Marshal,” Gladio said, reaching to wipe the sweat off his brow only to instead be met with a dry forehead. Come to think of it, he didn’t even feel all that tired. Had it really only been ten minutes?

The slight smile on Cor’s face faded and a look of skepticism grew in its place. “You haven’t been...taking anything recently, have you?”

“Wait, what? No!” Gladio exclaimed in disbelief before realizing his volume levels and settling back down. “I mean, no sir. Just some antibiotics, but that’s it.”

Mostly ignoring the sudden change in tone, Cor studied his pupil for a couple more moments before relaxing his posture. “Just had to be sure. Alright then, you’re good to get started on the first set of drills.”

Gladio sighed in relief. “Thank you, sir.” As he walked past Cor to the other side of the arena, he cast a downward glance to his right forearm where the wound marks were barely even there anymore. Not entirely gone, but definitely a lot smaller than what he had seen this morning.

Huh. Considering how strong that medicine was turning out to be, maybe steroids weren’t too far off the mark.

* * *

The warm-ups were probably just a lucky break. Maybe Gladio had just learned how to properly pace himself during the run. Maybe the other recruits were having an off-day. Yeah, that might have been it.

Or rather, it might have been it if he hadn’t blown through all his training like some kind of supersoldier prepping for a life-or-death mission.

100 push-ups in a row usually would have had him feeling just a little out of breath. This time, it felt like he wasn’t even doing any work at all. When they had gotten to burpees, he had made it to about his 80th before Cor ordered him to stop. By the time they made it to weaponry practice, he had barely even broken a sweat after his fight with what was probably his 5th opponent in a row.

Gladio hoisted the wooden broadsword behind his shoulders with one arm, using the other arm to extend a hand to his opponent currently lying on the ground in front of him. “Hey, you good? Hope I didn’t hit you too hard--”

“Back off,” the young man exclaimed, sitting up suddenly and shuffling backwards away from Gladio. “I give, alright? I don’t know what your problem is with us today, but just cool it already!”

Gladio was taken aback by his frantic pleading before his expression morphed into an offended look. “Problem? I don’t have any problem, what are you talking about?” Looking behind him, he saw the rest of the guard members crowded before the two, staring at them with a mix of apprehension and concern. He had a hunch about which emotion was being mostly directed at him. 

The crowd parted in the center as Cor walked through, taking a look at the scene in front of him with stern perplexity. “Training is done for today. Head home to get some rest and be here by eight tomorrow morning. Is that clear?”

With a resounding “yes sir!” the crowd dispersed out of the room. Gladio begrudgingly followed suit a fair distance behind the rest of the guards, only subtly looking back to see Cor kneeling down in front of the defeated guard and quietly speaking to him.

* * *

“You truly couldn’t tell what the matter was? Hand me the kosher salt, please.”

Scanning the array of containers on the spice rack nearby, Gladio picked up a maroon and white cylinder and handed it off to the chef. “I’m tellin’ you, Iggy, it was a walk in the park all day. Training’s _ never _ like that, especially when the Marshal’s in charge.”

Ignis shook the salt over the uncooked steak tips in the bowl, throwing in a few dashes of paprika and garlic powder and mixing it before placing the bowl back down beside him. “Perhaps you’ve just become accustomed to Crownsguard work and never noticed.”

“I’m not gonna totally dismiss that claim, but I seriously doubt that that’s why.” The clatter of the bowl next to Gladio got his attention, along with the overwhelming smell of the seasoned meat within it. Six, how much of that stuff did he throw onto it?

“You’re overthinking, Gladio. Coming from someone like myself, that may actually be cause for concern,” Ignis said with a smirk as he moved on from chopping onions into expertly mincing a few cloves of garlic.

The addition of the new scents caused Gladio to silently gag as he turned away from the cutting board. Gods, it was like an assault on his nostrils. Deciding upon himself that he should help out in some other way that didn’t nearly make him vomit, he dragged the other bowl of unseasoned steak to his side of the countertop to coat it with some olive oil. As he reached over to grab the bottle, he noticed a speck of something on one of the meat pieces. 

Picking up the piece in question, Gladio brought it to his face for a closer look. There were a few black flecks on it, but upon closer inspection it turned out to just be black pepper. He could tell by the scent on it; not super-strong, but still noticeable. It actually smelled good. Really good, as a matter of fact. The way it subtly contrasted yet complimented the sanguine, juicy appearance of the meat made the inside of Gladio’s mouth water and quickly overwhelmed his better judgement with pure instinct.

Before he knew it, he had popped the piece into his mouth and quickly chewed and swallowed it. The fleeting but savory taste caused him to suppress a moan that almost escaped his throat. 

It was one of the best things he had ever tasted in his life. It almost (_almost_) beat out the cup noodles he loved so much. 

He wanted more. He _ needed _ more. Besides, he needed to check the meat for any deformities. Couldn’t have any bad pieces making it into one of Iggy’s dishes, now could he? Gladio sifted through the bowl, looking for any other steak bites that needed to be disposed of. He picked up one piece that looked to have a bit too much pepper on it and tossed it right into his mouth. Yup, that was definitely a bad piece. A bad, even-tastier-than-the-last piece.

“This dish happens to be one of my personal favorites, so hopefully it will help you after such an unsettling day. Speaking of which, could you pass me the—Gladio?”

Oh, these pieces looked downright terrible. He’d better get rid of them, too.

“Gladio.”

These ones looked salvageable, but Gladio absolutely had to make sure. He took a miniscule pinch of oregano and sprinkled it over the meat before taking a handful from the bowl and shoving it into his mouth. He was so wrong, these were the absolute worst.

“Gladiolus!”

“Whoaff!?” Gladio muffled out angrily with a mouth full of steak before turning around to face an appalled Ignis. The silence that hung in the air between them was palpable, the only sounds heard being the sizzling of the nearby pan and the audible gulp as Gladio swallowed what he had been eating.

Ignis’ eyes shifted uneasily from the empty bowl to a stunned Gladio. “That was an entire bowl of unprepared steak tips. Did you just eat the entire—?”

The question was left unfinished and unanswered as Gladio shoved the bowl away from himself, the loud clatter masking the sound of him rushing out the door and slamming it behind him.

* * *

“Hey, you’re back!” Iris leaned back from the skillet on the stove to look through the kitchen entranceway, where she saw her brother walk through the main door. 

Gladio simply let the door shut itself behind him, giving a half-hearted wave as he walked past the kitchen and towards the stairs. “Mm-hmm.”

“I’ve got dinner cooking on the stove,” Iris said, smiling confidently. “Hope you’re hungry!”

Hungry was the absolute last thing Gladio was. Just hearing Iris say that made his stomach turn. “I’m all set. Already ate at Iggy’s, so I’m just gonna turn in for the night.”

“‘Kay. I’ll set some aside for you to take for lunch tomorrow.” Iris peeked her head out of the kitchen to wave Gladio off. “Good night!”

“Night,” Gladio wearily responded as he made his way up the stairs. Every step he took was heavy-footed as he continued down the hallway, his body aching with fatigue and a rising nausea as he dragged himself into his room. Letting the door close behind him, he shuffled over to his bed and practically collapsed onto it, allowing himself to be enveloped by the familiar sensation of a soft mattress. As closed his eyes and let sleep take him, the remnants of the setting sun being the last sight he saw before he let his conscious rest.

* * *

Pain. 

A sharp, intense pain.

That was what forced Gladio from his sleep as he found himself writhing on the floor, coated in a cold sweat. It spread from his core to the rest of his body, causing him to reflexively curl into himself as if to help mitigate the pain. Instead, he could only contort further as his muscles continued to seize up from the tremors. As he attempted to get up and steady himself, he was knocked down by a newer sensation. An even more intense pain of his limbs, his very form seeming to expand and elongate into something that whatever remained of his sanity currently wasn’t letting him process. 

Gladio could only rasp out a few sharp exhales before being hit with yet another ache. This time, he instinctively clutched his jaw, feeling it shift as his teeth felt like they were growing. 

Growing...and sharpening.

With what little consciousness he had left, Gladio reached a desperate hand out towards his bedroom door. “Iris…” he began to weakly call out until he zeroed in on the sight that laid before him. His nails on his hand were elongating into claw-like structures and... 

There was hair sprouting and growing on his hand. His entire arm.

Then there was darkness.

* * *

The sound of birds chirping nearby stirred Gladio from his slumber. As his eyes slowly opened, he was greeted by the surroundings of numerous trees and a mossy wooded area. 

Both of which were definitely nowhere near his house.

Stark realization hit him and caused him to suddenly sit up, though not without an overwhelming soreness in his entire body forcing him to slump back down. He managed to catch himself in time, firmly planting his hand into the loamy dirt below. As he made a second, more controlled attempt to stand up, Gladio was able to get a better look at his surroundings, squinting to allow his eyes a bit more time to adjust to the sunlight.

_ This place...this is where Dad and I used to go camping all the time. _ Gladio thought to himself. _ How the hell did I end up all the way out here? _

Deciding that he’d much rather be here under less dubious circumstances, Gladio instead chose to rely on his highly developed internal compass to start leading him back home. He began to walk in the direction he had determined to be south, his bare feet sinking into the damp dirt below.

Wait, bare feet? How’d he get all the way out here with no shoes? Looking down from the strange sensation, a more pressing question arose upon seeing his bare legs, bare torso, and bare...everything else.

Why the fuck did he not have any clothes on?

* * *

“So let me get this straight. You told me you were going to bed last night.”

“Right.”

“But you woke up in the woods right outside of the city?”

“That’s what I said.”

“And to top it all off... you weren’t wearing any clothes.”

“I never said that.”

“No, but you were wearing something different yesterday and I know for a fact that you wouldn’t be walking around in that getup unless you lost a bet,” Iris reasoned by pointing to the faded white logo T-shirt and dingy light gray board shorts.

Gladio averted his sister’s interrogative stare, pulling at the collar of his “I ♥ Insomnia” shirt that he’d managed to snag on his way back. “It’s not that bad—”

“Yes it is. That’s besides the point, though.” Iris’ amused smile shifted into a concerned frown. “You were gone almost all day. Dad even stopped by from the Citadel to see if you had gone to training because Cor didn’t see you there at all.”

“You didn’t tell him the truth, did you?”

Iris shook her head. “No way! I figured something was up, so I just told him you were sick from when you came home yesterday.”

Gladio let out a tired sigh of relief. At least that was one issue temporarily off his back. “Thanks. I owe you one.”

“More like five, but I’ll take it. Seriously though, Gladdy. What happened to you last night?”

Gladio’s brows furrowed in concentration. He tried to think of some semblance of a memory from the previous night, only to come up with nothing concrete. Just a complete blur and the faint but familiar sensation of exhausted muscles. Not really knowing why, he glanced at his right forearm that he was leaning on and saw that the bite marks had vanished without a trace. He brought it up to his face for a closer look, trying but failing to see anything other than the edges of tattooed feathers on his skin. 

“I’ve got a few guesses. But you’re gonna think I’m insane.”

* * *

“Gladio, you can’t be serious. Werewolves? I’d rather you just admit to preferring your meat on the rarer side.”

“I am and I already told you, I don’t,” Gladio asserted. (It was more like extra rare, but Ignis didn’t need to know that.)

Ignis skimmed through a few more pages of one of the books Gladio had brought back from both the local bookshop and his own personal library, raising an eyebrow at the contents of _ A Dog Eat Dog World: Common Canine Behaviors _. “It’s not the most outlandish thing I’ve heard of, but it’s still downright ridiculous. Surely there’s a more realistic explanation for all this?”

“Sounds like something straight out of a fairytale, right?” Iris piped up, walking over and placing an open book down onto the coffee table between the two. “But check this one out. This one’s all about daemons and other monsters besides those. There’s an entire chapter that’s just about werewolves!”

Ignis and Gladio peered in closer to the open pages, the scent of biblichor wafting past them as they read on. The chapter revealed that there was a lot more lore to the subject than they had anticipated. Excerpts from alleged witness accounts, descriptions of moon phases, numerous theorized origins of werewolves. What really caught their attention was a full two-page list of symptoms that the afflicted might end up experiencing.

“Sudden increases in strength and stamina, increased sensitivity to previously unnoticed scents, developed craving for meat,” Gladio read aloud. “I had all of those within a single day.”

“Seems one of the more telltale signs is an aversion to anything silver.” Ignis pointed to an asterisked note at the bottom of the list. “Simply touching it can supposedly cause anything from a mild rash to severe burns.”

Iris peered over at the chain around Gladio’s neck. “Like your necklace?”

“There’s no rash or anything, but I don’t think it’s even made of silver, anyways.” Gladio lifted the beaded necklace slightly away from his chest to check, absentmindedly fiddling with the cross before inspiration struck. “Ignis, hand me one of your daggers.”

A look of suspicion crossed Ignis’ face. “What for? None of them are made of pure silver. They’re either iron or steel.”

“The mythril ones aren’t. Give me one of those, quick.” 

Apprehensively, Ignis willed one of the mythril daggers into existence, the small shards of crystal dissipating into thin air as he extended it handle-first to Gladio. “What exactly do you intend to do with—?”

Gladio didn’t bother to let him finish asking as he took a sharp intake of breath and pressed the dagger’s blade flat against his open palm. Within mere seconds, an intense burning sensation seared across his hand, causing him to yell out in pain and drop the dagger to the floor with a clatter. 

“Gladdy!” “Gladio!” Iris and Ignis cried out, getting up from their seats to surround the Shield. Ignis took a brief moment to pick up the dagger and send it back to the armiger before looking upon Gladio’s hand alongside Iris. Sure enough, there was a sizeable burn mark running across the spot where Gladio had pressed it, getting redder by the second.

“Mythril’s...a subtype of silver,” Gladio grunted out, taking a breath in-between to better mitigate the dulling pain. “It’s not as pure, but it’s still silver nonetheless.” 

Ignis turned towards Gladio, trying to read his expression for any sign of dishonesty before solemnly relenting. “What do you propose we do now?” 

A deep sigh was all Gladio could muster in response. “We wait.”

* * *

The second transformation somehow didn’t catch Gladio by surprise as much as the first one did. It was strange, but it was like he could sense it approaching. It had been a faint sort of gut feeling that he had during the day, if he had to call it something. 

After the haze of confusion settled, the first thing Gladio noticed was how much more aware he was compared to last time. Everything looked so clear in the pitch-black darkness of his bedroom; it was as if all the lights were still on. Not to mention all the scents he was picking up. The stale and fresh mix of sweat emanating from his dirty hamper in the corner, traces of a soapy and minty aroma coming from his bathroom. He was even picking up a faint, smoky scent coming from the hallway outside.

A few soft knocks were heard at the door. “Bro, you in there? I grabbed you some dinner from downstairs.”

Like the textbook definition of classical conditioning, the sound of Iris’ voice announcing dinner was all he needed to hear. Gladio scurried up to the closed door from his bed, pawing at it desperately.

“That’s not gonna scare me, you know. I know it’s you,” Iris called out from behind the door.

Gladio only continued to scratch at the door, whining anxiously.

“...Gladdy? I’m gonna open the door now, alright?” Iris asked with a nervous tinge to her voice. The doorknob slowly twisted to the right as Iris pushed open the door and peeked in. Flipping on the light switch next to her, her sight adjusted and immediately focused on the large, brown-black wolf standing on all fours in front of her and wagging its tail.

Iris remained unfazed at the sound of the plate she had been holding hitting the floor and splattering food all over it. She only yelped in surprise when the wolf bounded over to the pile of spilled food and started devouring it, knocking her over in the process. “No way. Gladdy? Is that really you?”

Ears perking up at hearing the sound of his name, Gladio abandoned the remaining scraps of green beans and bread crumbs and lept onto Iris to start licking her face. 

“Ack, no! Come on, that tickles! That’s so gross, knock it off!” Iris giggled, pushing Gladio away at an arm’s length. “I’m guessing turning didn’t make you any smarter, did it?” 

Gladio responded with a low bark that Iris could swear sounded like he was actually annoyed at her for asking that. 

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” Iris took his face into her hands and ruffled the fur around it. It felt coarse in some spots, but was overall very smooth and soft to the touch. Upon closer inspection, the scar he had gotten over his eye not too long ago was there as well. “Looks like most of the change happens on the outside and not the inside.”

Gladio blinked at her with soft gold eyes, wriggling his head out her hands and walking over to the door to lightly sniff at the doorknob.

“Still hungry, huh? Alright, we can go get you some more.” Iris pressed a finger against her lips. But you have to be quiet, alright?” As she stood back up and opened the door, she nearly got knocked over again as Gladio bolted out of the room and down the hallway. 

“Hey,” Iris hissed, jogging out of the room to chase her brother down. “You’re gonna wake Jared up! Gladio, wait! Heel!”

* * *

The Amicitia manor didn’t have a yard in the traditional sense of the word. There was a small lawn out front, but out back was a garden that blew commonplace backyards out of the water. Lavish topiary statues were placed throughout the area, while carefully pruned bushes filled with a variety of flowers grew closer to the borders created by the rustic stone fence. With the vast stretch of grass filling the center to complete it, this yard could put any other yard in Insomnia to shame.

At least it could if it weren’t currently laden with dug up holes and mounds of dirt littered across it.

Clarus folded his arms, turning away from the infuriating view of his once-prized-now tarnished garden and towards his two children. “And you two are positive that you didn’t see how this all happened?”

Iris shook her head.“Sorry. We were both fast asleep pretty early last night. Probably happened afterwards.”

Clarus sighed. “I don’t know whose dog is responsible for this, but they had either keep it indoors at night or put a damn leash on it.”

“Oh, for sure. That’s just total irresponsibility right there.” Gladio subtly scratched his fingertips against the back of his black tank top, attempting to shake loose something that remained clumped up between his nails.

As soon as Clarus left the room, Iris turned to look at her brother with a smug smile on her face. “Must have been some dog, huh?”

“You can’t prove it was me.”

“Really now?” Iris took out her phone and scrolled through the camera roll app before tapping ‘play’ on the video of a familiar dog-like creature digging up craters in the garden from the night before. “I beg to differ.”

The heat in Gladio’s cheeks felt like he was face-first in the mouth of a volcano.

* * *

Ignis stared at the hulking dark brown wolf currently sitting and panting right in front of him with intense green eyes. Well, not directly at it at least. Even he knew that looking a canine directly in its eyes could be taken as a challenge, and he certainly didn’t want that. Kneeling down to meet the animal at eye-level (what a lovely coincidence, it even had the same eye color as Gladio did), Ignis tilted his head to the left to get a better look, only for it to mimic him and tilt its head in the same direction. Bemused, he tilted his head in the opposite direction, only for the animal to once again do the same thing and lick the top of its nose.

Ignis looked back to Iris, who had her hands folded behind her back impatiently. “You’re positive this is him?”

“Of course it’s him! Why do you think I called you to come over here for in the first place?”

“To show off your mastery at sneaking wild animals into your home and training them up in almost no time flat?”

Iris rolled her eyes. “It’s him, Ignis. Test him yourself if you still don’t believe me.”

This was certainly an efficient use of his Thursday night. “Very well, then. Gladiolus,” Ignis began, not failing to notice how the wolf’s tail started thumping on the ground excitedly upon hearing his name being called. “Go retrieve one of your favorite books from your room and bring it to me.” He snapped his fingers and pointed towards the area past the balcony. “Fetch.”

Instead of doing as commanded, the wolf-dog let out a low indignant-sounding growl.

Ignis gestured to the creature in an “I told you so” manner, to which Iris simply folded her arms at. “Well he’s not gonna get it if you ask him like that. Would you talk like that to regular Gladio?”

“No, I suppose I wouldn’t,” Ignis deadpanned. He turned his attention back to maybe-Gladio that was--and this could have been a trick of the light--scowling at him and took a composing breath. “I apologize. That was very rude of me to speak to you like that. If it’s truly you, could you please go get one of your favorite books and bring it here?”

At the adviser’s much more polite behest, maybe-Gladio bounded up the stairs and turned a corner, disappearing from sight. Not even a minute later, he came back down the stairs with a paperback book in-between his teeth. He placed it down on the floor directly in front of Ignis before looking back up at him expectantly.

The book showed obvious signs of wear and tear, but they were few in-between and Ignis could tell it was the result of being read so many times. _ A Flaxen Heart _. Seeing the title elicited a soft chuckle out of Ignis, recalling the numerous occasions where Gladio had tried to get him into the novel to no avail. He didn’t mind romance novels at all, but this one in particular had been a little too on the nose for him to finish reading. It lacked so much of the nuance that the title itself implied.

“I know only one person alive that would favor a book like this.” Ignis took his hand and scratched Gladio behind the ears, running his fingers through the warm, unsurprisingly soft fur his head was layered with. “You can put that in front of me as many times as you wish. I’m still not going to read it,” he quipped.

That remark was met with an intentionally extra-slobbery lick to Ignis’ face that managed to make his glasses fall right off of his face. 

Ignis sputtered as he wiped the excess saliva trailing the corner of his mouth to his cheek. “Now you’re just being cheeky.”

Gladio barked in response, as if to say _ “ _Damn right, I am.”

* * *

A resounding _ thud! _echoed throughout the combat hall as Noctis slammed against the padded wall. Slumping against the wall and attempting to sit up, he groaned in a mix of pain and annoyance as Gladio approached him.

Noctis dusted off his shoulder. “Little bit overboard there, don’t you think?”

“What? You want me to act like I’m tossing you into a field of daisies next time?” Gladio scoffed.

“Not saying that, but at least it’d be a lot better than you throwing me around like a sack of potatoes.”

“Wouldn’t need to if you actually ate potatoes like you’re supposed to.” Gladio leaned over a bit to extend a helping hand to his charge.

The prince rolled his eyes, accepting the hand and pulling himself up to his feet. “Whatever. What’s been up with you lately, anyways? You’ve been acting weird.”

“Weird how, exactly?”

Noctis’ eyes drifted upward, as if he was trying to look to the ceiling for the right answer. “You’re more intense, I guess? Like you’re already a hardass, but lately you’ve just been a hardass on edge.”

Gladio hesitated. It would have been so easy to just tell Noctis what was up. That’s what he always did with him. Hell, that’s what he was around for in the first place. Yet somehow, just outright telling someone that you protected them from not only getting shanked in an alleyway but also getting bitten and cursed by a werewolf in their stead probably wouldn’t sit right with most people.

“Just trying to keep you on your toes.” Gladio managed to plaster on a convincing enough smirk as he ruffled up Noctis’ hair. “You start slacking off and pretty soon I won’t have a prince to be a Shield for.”

It was a decent enough half-truth. Though Gladio felt a twinge of uncertainty that Noctis remained unconvinced, it quickly faded as Noctis simply shrugged in response. “Fair enough. Let’s go a couple more rounds, then.” Noctis leaned over to pick up the wooden shield, then turned to amble back to his starting position.

“You got it,” Gladio affirmed. Walking back to his own spot, he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, trying to massage his own nerves back into ease. There was a lot on his plate already, and this new “situation” definitely didn’t make things any easier for him.

He’d get around to telling Noct the truth about that night. Eventually.

* * *

Crownsguard training a few days later was, as Gladio had come to expect, not much in the way of a challenge like it used to be. With that being the case, he decided that he had to at least act like it was a workout rather than continue to arouse suspicion. Instead of sprinting at top speed during the two-mile run like every muscle in his body screamed at him to do, he held himself back and finished at a time that was only a couple minutes over his current record. Strength training later that day felt like he was bench-pressing one of Iris’ stuffed moogles, but he managed to put on a good enough act judging by the lack of raised eyebrows directed at him from his cohort.

The day’s work was eventually finished and Gladio made it home a little while before sunset. After filling up on a few treated helpings of some new surf and turf cup noodles (he wished there was a little more emphasis on the turf part), he decided to turn in early for the night and decompress with some light reading. Turning on the desk lamp on his nightstand, Gladio ruminated over the selection of books in his personal collection for a few moments before deciding on a fantasy novel he hadn’t read in a while. As he reached towards the book to take it out of its spot, something caught the attention of his peripheral vision from outside his window.

“Hm?” Gladio peered out the window to see what had momentarily distracted him. After a brief look-see, he found that nothing out of the ordinary was there. Just the recently renovated shrubbery of the garden and quaintly blinking stars in the night sky, all illuminated by the brighter light of the harvest moon centered high above. 

A light that, as Gladio’s eyes met said moon, was almost blinding in comparison.

At that very moment, a searing white-hot pain spread from his forehead throughout Gladio’s entire body. He clutched his forehead and gritted his teeth to no avail, the pain overtaking him in an instant and his vision going completely white. 

The last thing felt was the brief sensation of losing his balance before...nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sure he'll be fine...! ":3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in time for the occasion! Happy Halloween!

_ That’s our weather report for the hour. Now, here’s our local news segment… _

Muffled speech morphed into tangible words that Gladio slowly awoke to. The grogginess fading away, he found himself looking up at the living room ceiling as he laid on the couch, not paying much attention to the white noise of the television.

...The couch? In the living room? He didn’t remember falling asleep here last night. Come to think of it, he didn’t really recall dozing off in the first place.

_ ...lakefront closed off until further notice due to an apparent attack from an… _

Gladio grumbled to himself, running his fingers through his messy bedhead as he thought back to the previous day. He came home, ate dinner, went upstairs to read before bed, and then...

_ ...aged 43, found dead nearby, with forensics experts on the scene finding several large bite marks… _

Nope. He was blanking. All he had to go off of was a small headache and a faint fishy smell. There definitely must have been way more shrimp than beef in those noodles. ‘Surf and turf’, his ass.

_ ...nothing yet at this time. Coming up next we’ll be broadcasting the “State of the Crown City” address live from King Regis himself. _

* * *

“You still going fishing this weekend?”

Noctis sighed as he looked up from his phone. “Can’t. Lake Amani got closed off for who knows how long.”

Gladio furrowed his brow in concern. “Closed off? For what?”

“You didn’t hear? Some guy fishing there last night got gored by some wild animal,” Prompto relayed. “It was on the news for a while this morning. Super scary!”

Gladio frowned in pity at the news. “That’s a damn shame. Poor guy.” The dull ache at the nape of his neck went unnoticed.

* * *

November arrived almost unnoticed, save for the chillier weather that everyone had to quickly adapt to. Nevertheless, one particularly anticipated day that soon arrived was Harvest Day, where friends and family came together under one roof to share stories, eat as much delicious food as possible, and pass out from the inevitable food coma later on. It was this very day that the Amicitias cherished, no matter how busy Clarus and Gladio were with their own respective duties at the Citadel. The three had a lovely dinner together and while Clarus had to turn in early for the following morning, Iris and Gladio opted to hang out together in the living room for some quality post-dinner sibling time.

While Iris was laying on the floor watching _ Love at the Harvest Day Parade _ on TV, Gladio found himself in and out of watching it as he lounged on the couch, scrolling through a few online stores on his phone. He was about to tap on a good looking deal for a crockpot to gift Ignis when he was distracted by a cry of protest from his sister. 

“Aw, right now? They were just getting to the good part!” Iris pouted.

Gladio looked up to see what Iris was bemoaning as “NEWS UPDATE” flashed across the TV screen. “It’s probably just some stuff about all the huge Black Friday lines around the city. Happens every year.”

_ We interrupt this program for a quick news update. Another victim of a wild animal attack has been found dead in Coatilis Woods, not far outside of the Crown City. _

“Another one?” Iris exclaimed, sitting up at the announcement. “I wonder what’s been going on.”

“Can’t be anything good,” Gladio commented as he leaned in to listen.

_ Just this morning, police and park rangers were called to the scene by a 25-year-old man, who had gone to look for the victim, his 23-year-old girlfriend, after she had gotten up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night during their camping trip. Morning arrived, and she had still not returned. _

A trace of a thought crept into the back of Gladio’s mind as he listened. Where had _ he _ been last night? He remembered coming home with last-minute Harvest Day groceries, but didn’t remember actually going to bed. Trying to recall anything after resulted in a prickling pain arising in the back of his head. 

_ Upon being called, officials were led by the young man to the body, which was bitten into repeatedly and severely mangled. The young man could not be reached for further comment. _

The pain turned into a throbbing that pulsed inside of Gladio’s head. Something didn’t feel right.

_ This marks the second attack since last month’s report on the fisherman that died of similar causes near Lake Amani last month. _

Last month...it was just like before. A gap in his memory, then a death reported the very next day. He was straining to remember now, cotton-mouthed with sweat beading on his forehead as a vision flashed past his eyes.

A blinding, white light from the moon. A full moon.

Iris looked back at her brother, growing worried at his paled expression. “Hey, are you alright? You don’t look so good.”

_ The campgrounds have now been sealed off for investigation and police are now advising citizens living within this area to stay indoors at night... _

* * *

“There must be some sort of misunderstanding.”

Ignis was used to being up at odd hours of the night, considering that he tended to work late finalizing reports. What he wasn’t used to, however, was Gladio being the cause of his wakefulness and having him be on the verge of a nervous breakdown in the living room of his apartment.

“It’s not. Iggy, it’s not. I’m the one that went after them. I’m the one who…” Gladio couldn’t finish the thought, but Ignis knew what he was referring to: those seemingly random maulings that had occurred around Insomnia within the last couple of months. One attack would have been pure happenstance. Two and Ignis would have waved it off as nothing but coincidence. But with what Gladio had just confessed to and how his voice lacked any trace of frivolity, that was quickly becoming less of a possibility.

“First things first,” Ignis said. “You must try and calm down so we can—”

“Calm down? How the hell do you expect me to do that after I just found out that I murdered two people in cold blood!?” Gladio roared, standing up and shoving the coffee table away from him. “You try staying calm after that and tell me how it goes for you, because I’d love to hear about it!”

Ignis remained seated on the sofa, uncowed by the yelling. “I understand how grim the situation is. But panicking about it won’t do anything for it retroactively, nor will it do anything for you now.”

Gladio tensely stared him down, amber eyes flaring up furiously in those moments before he relented and sat back down in defeat. “I’m sorry. I just...I can’t let this happen again.”

“Then we’ll find a way to remedy it.”

“How? It isn’t something I have control over and it’s not like I can escape the damn moon hanging over my head."

Ignis stroked his chin in thought. “There may be a way to alleviate it, though. That book you purchased listed a few plants that caught my interest. With any luck, the answer might lie there.”

“I’ll try anything at this point.” Gladio grasped both of Ignis’ shoulders, his hands shaking with desperation. “Please, Ignis. I need your help.”

Ignis nodded resolutely. “I’ll do what I can.”

* * *

As luck would have it, the plant Ignis had researched turned out to be monkshood, or wolfsbane as it was more suitably known. By all accounts the stalky violet flower was poisonous, its leaves and petals containing a potent toxin. Fortunately, Ignis’ culinary expertise worked its magic during the experimental trials of making it more edible. What started out as being forced to down a disgustingly bitter and waxy-tasting cup of wolfsbane tea every single day eventually led to the creation of a slightly more palatable homemade supplement for Gladio to take. Spurred on by a secret known only to two, Gladio had eventually gotten his monthly bloodlust under control.

Good thing too, because he was getting pretty close to vomiting just from the scent of that tea alone.

In addition, his transformations became sort of an odd routine for him. From the pattern he’d picked up during the months following, they happened weekly, rarely occurring more than once during the same week. The night it happened to fall on was more random, but he was able to tell when they were coming on. The only thing Gladio had to truly be on guard for was when the full moon was in effect. So long as he kept a steady supply of the supplements on his person the week of, things wouldn’t get out of hand. Not again.

* * *

Insomnia’s fall two years later threw everything and everyone out of whack. With the King dead and the Empire hot on their trail nearly every day, it was no surprise that the boys tended to be more on edge nowadays. They were all struggling to fully accept what had happened in their absence, and Gladio was no different. Between losing his own father in the same conflict, wanting to meet up with Iris to see her safe and sound in Lestallum, and having to keep everybody in line (Noctis especially), he was a powder keg of mixed emotions.

Maybe that’s why he’d barely paid any mind to his discomfort when they had made camp at a little ways away from Lestallum for the evening. As they all sat around the warmth of the campfire, Gladio picked at his plate of prairie-style skewers before sighing and standing up out of his chair. “Think I’m gonna just turn in for the night.”

“Not feeling well?” Ignis asked.

“Just more tired than hungry. I’ll just eat the rest for breakfast tomorrow.” Handing the plate off to Ignis, Gladio walked over to the tent and unzipped it. “Night.” He sluggishly crawled into the tent, zipping it back up behind him. The remaining three turned to each other with varying degrees of concern on their faces.

“You think he’s okay?” Prompto whispered.

“He’ll be fine,” Noctis said. “Like he said, he’s just tired.”

“But he barely even ate dinner! How do you not finish whatever Iggy cooks?”

“If you’re Noct, it’s as simple as putting any trace of a vegetable in a dish.” Ignis placed the plate he'd been handed next to the camp stovetop. “Worrying isn’t necessary, Prompto. Gladio is just as hardy as he appears.”

“If you’re sure. Still, it’s weird that—” Prompto started to press until the sound of a loud, tight scraping nearby interrupted him. “Uh...did you guys hear that?”

“What, the tent moving around? That’ll happen when someone’s in it.” Reaching over up to place his own empty plate below Gladio’s, Noctis froze when he heard a low-toned growl coming from the same source. 

“Does that also happen when someone’s in a tent?”

“No, uh...not really. You alright in there, Gladio?” No response, save for a loud shuffling and another growl from within the tent. Neither of which were good signs.

Prompto stood up and walked over to the tent. “I’m gonna peek in and make sure he’s good.”

“Ah, just a moment…” Ignis started to say.

“I’ll be quick! Maybe he’s just trying to sleep off a bad stomach ache.” Prompto reached over unzipped a portion of the tent flap. “Trust me, I know that feeeeeEEEELS!”

Ignis and Noctis both instinctively backed up as Prompto shrieked and fell backwards on his ass to scuttle away from the tent. “What’s the matter?”

Prompto pointed a shaky finger at the tent, wide-eyed and frazzled beyond belief. “There’s s-something in there and it’s definitely not Gladio!”

“The hell do you mean it’s not Gladio?” Noctis asked. “Who else would it be?” Walking past the two of them and pulling the tent flap back, Noctis found himself staring directly into the amber-gold eyes of a huge, dark brown wolf that seemed to be tiredly glaring at him.

“Uh...hi?”

The wolf’s loud bark startled Noctis to his core and sent him tumbling backwards onto the haven’s rocky surface right beside Prompto.

“What the hell’s going on?” Noctis demanded to know. “Where did Gladio go?”

Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in resignation. “That _ is _Gladio.”

Noctis and Prompto blinked at each other. They slowly turned to the wolf still blankly staring them down, then to Ignis, then back to the wolf.

“What?!?”

* * *

The drive to Lestallum the next morning was more leisurely compared to how things had been as of late. With the scenic winding roads and hints of salt permeating the air from the south, it made it easier to forget about life’s troubles and just enjoy the ride. Gladio certainly seemed to think so, finding much more interest in the landscape passing him by than the pair of blue eyes currently grilling the living daylights out of him.

“Take a picture, Princess. It’ll last longer,” Gladio snarked.

Noctis was staring daggers at him now. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Gladio rolled his eyes. “How exactly was I supposed to bring that up? ‘Hey Noct, guess what? I’m a werewolf now. Say, you wanna go grab a bite to eat?’”

“You could’ve at least said something! When did it even happen?”

Gladio sighed. He was definitely gonna have to stretch the truth a bit here. “About a year ago. On a camping trip with Iris and my dad.”

“A year,” Noctis scoffed, folding his arms and turning towards his side of the Regalia. “Gee, thanks for keeping me in the loop. Really appreciate it.”

“Noct...” Ignis warned from the driver’s seat.

“See, this is why I didn’t wanna tell you, Gladio chided. “You would have just freaked out like you’re doing right now.”

“I’m not freaking out!” Noctis shouted before getting quiet again. “You should have just told me sooner. That’s all.”

“Didn’t want you to worry. Besides, you’re king now. You’ve got way more important things to worry about than whatever I’m going through.”

“Then as king, here’s my first order of business: no more secrets,” Noctis decreed, poking his Shield in the chest to emphasize his orders. “If you feel like you can’t bring something up to me, then that’s on me, not you. So quit acting like you have to keep everything to yourself.”

Though most would have heard those words as having an insensitive attitude, the undertones of grief and frustration from what Noctis had been having to deal with were clear as a bell to the others riding in the car with him, Gladio included. “Hmph. Well look who’s finally starting to act like royalty for once. Alright then. No more secrets.”

“You promise?”

Gladio raised his right hand to prove his point. “Amiticia word of honor.”

“Good.” Noctis leaned back in the seat, seemingly more at ease.

“Soooo now that we’re all on the honor system now, I’ve got a question about this werewolf stuff,” Prompto chimed in as he turned around from the front seat. “When you turn into a wolf, are you still house-broken or does all that go out the window?”

Gladio stroked his chin in contemplation. “Good question. If you leave any of your stuff lying around when I do, you’ll be the first to find out.”

A look of horror formed on Prompto’s face. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Gladio shrugged. “Can’t always control what I do when I’m like that. Anything goes.”

“Ignis, can we drop him off at doggy daycare with Iris and just leave him there?”

“That may not be a bad idea,” Ignis said. We’ll drop you off as well and I’m sure the two of you will do a fine job housebreaking him.”

“I’ve gotta warn you, though. I am a pretty big responsibility.”

The groan from Prompto and the resulting outburst of laughter could be heard for miles as the Regalia continued down the road to its awaited destination.

* * *

Finding Iris safe and sound in the Leville along with Jared and Talcott was like a huge weight lifted off of everyone’s shoulders. While Gladio was relieved to see his little sister after so long, it was simultaneously terrible since Noctis and Prompto had immediately started bombarding her with werewolf-related story requests that Iris was all too eager to gossip about. Apparently all it took to be the laughingstock of the night was having a story shared about him (allegedly) chasing a skunk down the street and getting sprayed in the face by it.

The next day, however, wasn’t as pleasant in comparison. After retrieving the royal arm in Greyshire Grotto, Noctis’ headaches that he’d started experiencing upon arriving in Lestallum only got worse in intensity. Following a quick look at the meteor from the town’s outdoor viewers, the group had somehow ended up tailgating a man named Ardyn to the Disc of Cauthess for further investigation. They had run into him before at Galdin Quay when they intended to board the ferry, and he was still just as shady now as he was then.

As it had gotten dark on their way to the Disc, the group of five elected to stay in the caravan (mostly at Ardyn’s request, but it wasn’t the worst idea to rest before potentially confronting an Astral). While both Prompto and Noctis were helping Ignis tidy up inside, Gladio remained outside to get some fresh air before heading to bed. He’d always been an outdoors kind of guy, but crisp, cool nights like these were his favorite. They helped clear his head, take his mind off of things for a little while.

“Quite the pensive one tonight, aren’t we?”

Gladio wished they’d help him take his mind off of this guy, too. “Not what I usually tend to be known for, but yeah.”

“So there’s brains beyond the brawn,” Ardyn facetiously concluded. “Ah, what a refined Shield your king has. Though I’m afraid I can still see a few...chinks in your armor.”

Gladio narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “How do you figure?”

Ardyn peered in closer, making Gladio feel like an ant under a microscope. “Composed as you may be on the surface, you’ve an underlying barbarity below it. You’d do well to keep that under control.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I’m sure that you will.” Ardyn walked past Gladio with a wolfish smirk on his face. “Lest you wind up hurting someone near and dear to your heart.”

The paranoia-filled glare Gladio sent Ardyn’s way was unseen by him as he entered the caravan.

* * *

Between fighting off a literal god, Ardyn revealing himself to be the imperial chancellor of all people, and losing the Regalia to the Empire, calling this a stressful week would have been a grave understatement. So much so that even the normally stress-inducing event of turning paled in comparison for Gladio. After walking off nearby to go transform, he came back and sat below his usual seat around the campfire, curled up in a huff.

“Looks like somebody’s in a less-than-ideal mood,” Ignis observed.

Noctis squinted his eyes. “Is he? It’s kind of hard to tell.”

“Aw, I know what’ll cheer him up.” Prompto knelt down in front of Gladio and held out his hand. “Alright Gladio. Shake!”

Gladio stared at him for a moment before shaking his head and curling back up into himself.

“No, not your head. Your hand! Uh, paw?” Prompto moved to lift up his paw before yelping and quickly retracting his hand back as Gladio snapped at him, angrily baring his incisors and canines.

“You know what they say about sleeping dogs.” Noctis carefully reached over to scratch Gladio behind the ear. “Isn’t that right, buddy?” 

Against his better judgement and ironclad restraint, Gladio’s hind leg started moving up and down at the sensation.

“Not so grumpy after all, are you?” Noctis smiled. He took his other hand to scratch Gladio’s other ear, making him lean more into the scratch and happily thump his tail into the ground like Titan’s footsteps. 

“That is so not fair,” Prompto complained. “He’s playing favorites!”

“Guess I’m just a natural with dogs.” As Noctis moved to start rubbing the side of Gladio’s belly, a loud whistle turned everyone’s attention towards Ignis dangling a sliver of daggerquill breast pinched between his fingers. At that moment, Gladio pretended that neither of the two existed and walked over to sit down at the side of the camp stove, opening his mouth for the treat.

“No fair! You can’t bribe him with food,” Noctis said, pointing an accusatory finger at Ignis.

Ignis tossed the meat into Gladio’s mouth and patted him on the head. “I think you’ll come to find that I can and just did.”

* * *

With a positive end to the raid on the imperial base a couple nights later, the four were back on the road in their prized Regalia. Remembering that there were a few unaccomplished night hunt requests they had taken, they stopped at an outpost to stock up on the necessary supplies. While Noctis and Prompto were picking things up in the shop, Gladio and Ignis were waiting outside with the car. 

As Gladio searched through the glove compartment where he kept a few of his personal items, a familiar orange-tinted medication bottle caught his eye. Picking it up and looking inside, he saw something that made his blood run cold--an empty space where his wolfsbane supplements normally should have been. 

Shoving the bottle back into the compartment, Gladio quickly walked over to where Ignis was finishing refilling the gas tank. “Hey, Iggy. You got a second?”

Ignis removed the nozzle and placed it back on the holder before shutting the fuel door. “Is something the matter?”

“Kinda, yeah,” Gladio said, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Was wondering if you had any more of those pills on you.”

“Pills? I’m not sure that I know what you mean.”

“Y’know..._ those _ pills,” Gladio stressed.

“Ah. Forgive me, but I don’t,” Ignis admitted. “I’ve actually been fresh out of monkshood for quite some time, but I’ve been hoping to find some in the field during our treks.”

That wasn't the answer he was hoping to hear. “Ignis, you know I—”

“I’m still well aware of the situation, Gladio. I’ll prepare some as soon as possible once I obtain the plant. But you should be fine in the meantime.”

Gladio folded his arms. “What makes you so sure?” 

“Well, you’ve already turned this week," Ignis said. "I highly doubt that a full moon will show up in the same period.”

The discomfort growing in the pit of Gladio's stomach eased a bit. It was hard to subscribe to that doubt, given their recent string of unfortunate events. But he’d had a pretty good track record since those attacks. Maybe he was being a little paranoid...

“Guess it can’t be helped. I’ll wait for them, then.” Gladio leaned in close to whisper into Ignis’ ear. “Think you can a little more flavor to them this time around, just for me?”

“Certainly. You’ll get plenty of flavor if I start hiding them in your meals from now on.”

“You’re the devil, you know that?”

Ignis chuckled. “Then I suppose that makes you my personal hellhound.”

* * *

With a sickening squelch of a greatsword hitting slimy flesh, the final flan melted down into a pile of goo and dark mist. 

“I hope that’s the last of them. Those things are so gross,” Noctis complained.

Prompto flicked a bit of flan goo off of his vest. “Leave it to us to get stuck with the icky jobs.”

“Jobs that pay decently, need I remind you,” Ignis said.

“Think we can get back to Lestallum in time?” Gladio asked.

“I’d advise not to chance it with it being so close to nightfall.” Ignis looked towards the distance where the last of the sun was gradually setting. “We should settle down at a nearby haven and wait until morning.”

Putting their weapons back into the Armiger, the party made their way towards Narcie Haven. As they walked, it wasn’t long before dusk had turned into night. The air had become noticeably cooler around them, and stars that were once hidden in the sky began to twinkle into existence.

“It’s pretty dark, isn’t it? Hope we don’t run into anything else soon.” Prompto said with a tinge of worry in his voice.

Noctis pointed up at the white cratered orb in the dark blue sky. “Full moon’s giving off some light, so we should be good until we get there.” He glanced back behind him. “Hey Specs, Gladio. No falling behind since you two wanna camp so bad…ly.” 

Prompto stopped in his tracks along with Noctis. “You okay, dude?”

Noctis gestured towards Ignis and Gladio behind them, the former frozen in place staring at the latter who was kneeling on the ground. “You guys alright back there?”

Ignis paid no mind to the prince’s question, his attention entirely focused on the unfortunate sight unfolding before him. Gladio was hunched over in excruciating pain, raggedly breathing as if he was struggling to take in enough air. “You...I didn’t...” he muttered. He attempted to reach out to touch Gladio, but pulled back when he saw gritted teeth lengthen into fangs and faint wisps of shadow coming off of the man.

Noctis stepped forward. “Gladio?”

“...We need to leave,” Ignis declared, fear present in his uncommonly unsteady voice. “_ Now.” _

Noctis looked at the adviser in disbelief. “Leave? Ignis, what’s going on? What's wrong with Gladio!?”

“Just do as I say! We don’t have any time to—!”

They were all cut off by an anguished scream from Gladio. A scream that echoed regret, anguish, and misery all in one. A scream that before their very ears morphed into a visceral snarl as Gladio’s entire form was enveloped in a cloud of heavy purple black smoke, not unlike how daemons appeared when they were vanquished. When it cleared there stood Gladio in his wolf form, but much larger and feral-looking than before. Where soft amber eyes once were were instead tinted with an unmistakable red aura of pure bloodlust. He let out a howling roar that sent a chilling fear through their bones.

_ “Run! Now!” _

The hunt was on.

* * *

The sounds of snapping twigs underfoot and rustled foliage were rapidfire as the trio sprinted deeper into the woods, knocking away anything obstructing their path. Not far behind the same sounds were intensified as Gladio continued his pursuit of all of them.

“What the fuck...is he doing? Why’s he...after us all of a sudden!?” Noctis yelled, huffing and puffing as he continued to run.

“I don’t have nearly as much time...to explain that as properly as you’d want me to!” Ignis nearly got beaned in the head by a low-hanging tree branch as he dashed under it, dragging Prompto along with him so he wouldn’t do the same.

“You’re not gonna get the chance to if we don’t get away from him!” Prompto screamed.

“Hold on,” Noctis wheezed. “We’ve gotta stop for a minute.”

“I’m sorry, you want to STOP running?”

Eyes darting about wildly, Ignis noticed a few large trees nearby. “Over there behind those trees. Quickly, hide!”

Noctis, Ignis and Prompto each silently picked a tree and quickly slid behind them. A few seconds later Gladio came bounding towards their hiding spot, skidding to a stop and sniffing around for where they had gotten off to. The snorting intake of air into his nostrils was deafening in the dead silence surrounding the area. He began to prowl around the clearing, unaware of his targets having a silent convening right under his nose.

Prompto, although quiet, was definitely the most shaken. His violet-blue eyes darted between Ignis and Noctis, trying his damndest to convey his desperate plea for some sort of exit strategy.

Ignis, seeing the desperation in both pairs of eyes and his mind running a mile a minute, managed to come up with a plan in half that time. His panicked but stern green eyes shifted slowly towards a forest path adjacent to them, mouthing “that way” to the both of them, and began counting down from five with his fingers.

Noctis, seeing both of these events unfold before him, looked at the two of them with wide but resolute blue eyes. He looked at Prompto and acknowledged his look of brief confusion. He looked at Ignis and disregarded the head shaking directed at him. Then with a silent summon of a dagger, he threw it down the direction of the path and point-warped towards it.

“Noct, no!” Ignis cried out in protest.

Whether it was the sound of space distorting from the warp or the cry of dismay that got his attention, Gladio’s head snapped up towards the sight of Noctis running and charged after him, teeth bared and mouth frothing with saliva. The remaining two ran out from their hiding spots to watch them both disappear down the path.

“What was he thinking? He can’t take him on alone!” Prompto exclaimed.

“He was likely trying to act as a distraction, albeit foolishly,” Ignis explained, taking the opportunity to catch his breath. “We need to catch up with him at once.”

“And then what? We can’t just keep running from Gladio until the sun comes up.”

Prompto was absolutely right. If they did manage to meet back up with Noctis, they wouldn’t have nearly enough stamina to outrun Gladio for the remainder of the night. Ignis mentally ran through every potential strategy until one in particular struck him as the most feasible. “Prompto. Those firearms you recently purchased...the bullets are made of mythril, correct?”

Prompto looked at him, mildly confused. “It’s mostly the barrels that are made out of it, but the bullets should be, too. Why?”

Ignis wiped the sweat from his brow and adjusted his glasses, sporting a grim but steadfast expression on his face. “I have a plan.”

* * *

Noctis tore through the bushes and back onto the forest path, his small attempt to feint having failed miserably as Gladio’s pursuit continued on. His lungs were on fire and had been since his last attempt to warp away a few moments ago. The internal magic energy at his core felt like only embers of it remained, fatigue settling in hard and fast within every muscle fiber of his body as it entered stasis. He didn’t exactly know what was thinking when he split off from Ignis and Prompto. All he knew was if they all stayed together for too long, Gladio would have gotten to them all at once. And since Ignis seemed to know a lot more about all this, he figured that he might have known a way to fix it. So he took it upon himself to act as bait and buy some time for them to figure something out.

Not one of his best ideas, but it was better than sitting there and getting ripped to shreds.

“You serious? All that training and you still can’t catch up?” Noctis yelled back. He wasn't sure if Gladio had actually understood him, but he could definitely see him coming up closer on him. So much for taunting him out of it.

Suddenly, Noctis felt magical energy click on inside of him as he ran. Putting away the dagger and willing his Engine Blade into existence, he leaned his arm back to throw it. But in the midst of him launching the sword and being pulled along by the warp, he felt sharp claws tear into him and shove him forward into the same tree up ahead he had aimed for. 

Noctis collided into the tree trunk, crying out in pain. He was momentarily dazed and his grasp loosened on the blade, but he regained it just in time to bring it up in front of him and block an incoming bite attack from Gladio. “Gladio, come on. Snap out of it already, it’s me!” The weight bore down on him from the continued gnawing into the sword, the combination of that and his clutching at his injured side rapidly draining his stamina. 

Noctis gritted his teeth, trying to push back against the force in a last-ditch attempt to get him to back off. He needed his Shield back. He wanted his friend back. But despite his best efforts he could only see one thing as he looked into the wolf’s eyes.

An unhindered intent to kill.

"Prompto, _ now _!"

Hearing a commanding shout, Noctis snapped out of his shock to see Ignis and Prompto across the way, the latter swiftly raising his pistol and pulling the trigger.

_ BANG_. The bullet sunk into Gladio's lower left side. A roar of agony tore through the air as Gladio turned on his prey and began to head towards the two interlopers, leaving Noctis slumped up against the tree to weakly watch on.

_ BANG_. Another bullet went into the meat of his right hind leg, his pace beginning to noticeably falter.

_ BANG_. As Gladio reared up on his hind legs and raised his arms to slash at the pair, the final bullet sunk into his left shoulder. Gladio seemed to move as if he was in slow motion, his own mass weighing down on him as he finally fell to the ground.

A whine mixed with a groan from the werewolf was the only noise that escaped him. Then total silence.

* * *

His internal clock bringing him to consciousness, Gladio steadily opened his eyes to find himself alone, surrounded by the familiar dark green walls of a tent. Blinking slowly, he could feel that he was laying on top of not just one, but several sleeping bags, some of which were covering him up. Looks like they’d made it to the haven after all.

Or so he thought to himself. Why couldn’t he remember getting here last night? Remember setting up camp and going to sleep? As he sat up to rub his head, the sleeping bag covers slid off to reveal a bandaged shoulder and side with gauze pads pressed into both areas.

He did _ not _ remember having those from yesterday. Confused, Gladio ripped the remaining covers off of his person to find that he was able to feel a bandage wrapped around his right thigh. Running a hand over his pant leg covering it, he grew more worried by the second. How’d he end up like this? Gladio tried to think back to yesterday evening after finishing the hunt, but nothing came up. Just a…

_ ...No. _

A complete blank. He could feel his heartbeat pounding through his ears, his breathing getting shorter and more frantic.

_ No. Please, no… _He knew what this was. He couldn’t remember, but he immediately recognized it for what it was, despite being so long since it had last happened. He was wide awake but it felt like he was trapped in a nightmare.

_ No...no no no shit shit SHIT! _

The tent entrance flew up as open as Gladio burst out of it, looking around wildly at the campsite. He was met with three pairs of eyes looking back at him as he searched to see what sort of damage had been done.

Ignis breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re awake. Thank goodness.”

“W-what...” Gladio began to stutter out. “How did I…?”

“I know you must be very disoriented right now, but let me explain—“

The explanation was promptly tuned out, however, when Gladio saw how Noctis was looking at him. There was a sort of weariness in his eyes, as if he’d been up for hours on end without any rest. Continuing to stare at him sitting in the camping chair, he noticed something else that made his heart stop. Peeking out underneath Noct’s black shirt were bandages wrapped around his side.

_ You did this. _

A sickening nausea washed over Gladio as his legs started buckling underneath him, feeling himself starting to fall backwards until he felt himself get caught by Prompto who eased him into his chair. “Easy does it there, big guy.”

_ You lost control, and you hurt them all. You dare call yourself a Shield? _

He slumped over into himself, burying his eyes in the palm of his hand to hide the shame, the horror of what he had done. The only thing to cool his face that was hot with frustration were the steady droplets of tears streaming down his cheeks. The embittered sob he let out sounded strained as he tried but failed to hold back the opening floodgates.

_ You almost _ killed _ him. You’re no Shield. _

The scraping of a chair leg against rock was heard as Noctis got up, opening his mouth to say something before Ignis held out an arm in front of him and solemnly shook his head. They could only tensely resume their cleanup of the haven as they prepared to head back to Lestallum.

_ You’re a monster. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> he gets better after this, i promise! just...not right at the moment.
> 
> thank you for reading! i hope you enjoyed!


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